Education and Training Science

General Aims The module in Psychology General illustrates the different theoretical approaches and methods of investigation designed to tackle the functioning of cognitive processes as well as the models that are used to interpret them. The understanding of the theories and the capacity to apply the methods of the psychological sciences is essential for educators, as it enables them to plan effective learning programs, following and measure the outcomes, by using the empirical knowledge about the core functioning of cognitive processes. The program will discuss several human cognitive abilities among which are learning, attention, memory, language and emotion. All these cognitive skills are essential in the development of an individual, and so to be considered in the educational context. To understand these diverse abilities, we will take perspectives from different branches of the psychological sciences such as cognitive psychology, cognitive science, neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. Students will acquire foundation knowledge about psychology as the scientific endeavour examining mind and behaviour while developing the necessary skills to understand research in the psychological sciences, its empirical findings, its applications, and the lexicon relevant in the discipline. At the end of the module of Psychology General, the student will have acquired conceptual tools and methodological skills to investigate cognitive processes throughout human development (infancy, adolescence and adult age) and across contexts (typical population, atypical and pathological populations). In this respect, the module is foundational for future educators, as it provides the basic concepts that can be used both to delve into the study of cognitive processes in more specific contexts and apply such knowledge in daily practice as teachers. Specific objectives At the end of the module, the student will be capable of: 1) Demonstrate knowledge about the main psychological theories and approaches to the study of the mind and behaviour covering the field in its diverse branches such as cognitive psychology or development as well as rudiments of psychobiology and research methods. [Knoweldge and understanding] 2) Apply the technical lexicon and the basic concepts in psychological sciences to different contexts of learning [Applying knowledge and understanding] 3) Make analytic and rigorous use of bibliographic sources about cognitive processes to be able to compare the different theoretical approaches. [Making judgements] 4) Understand the implications of the empirical results and theoretical models in educational practices in normal and pathological contexts. [Learning skills] 5) Learn basic notions of the scientific method, such as, for example, read scientific literature on timely topics in psychology by making use of specific online resources and databases (e.g., PubMed) as well as be able to perform critical analyses of such sources to communicate them clearly and synthetically [Communication skills]